So the Chinese built a fully insulated, earthquake resistant (up to magnitude 9 reportedly), soundproof hotel in under a week. They did use prefabricated materials (which means there was nearly no waste) so it's not like the churned it out from scratch, but this is a bloody amazing achievement.

They've been building a parking garage down the street from me for TWO YEARS.

Experts predict China could become the world's leading economy in the 2020's but there are economists arguing that China already is the world's number one economy since the GDP of the US gets inflated by buying cheap stuff from China and marking it up so, in a sense, that value should be considered Chinese economic power (I don't necessarily agree or disagree with this, I'm not an economist).

Imagine if China gets into the business of building infrastructure for developed countries, they could possibly completely destroy the construction industry in several countries.

Interesting, but when you think about the Empire State Building, when it was built, and how long it took them, this doesn't seem quite as impressive. EDIT: Also the foundation was already laid for the hotel. Still impressive though.

TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA"Excavation of the site began on January 21, 1930, and construction on the building itself started symbolically on March 17,St. Patrick's Day,per Al Smith's influence as Empire State, Inc. president. The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, along with hundreds of Mohawk iron workers, many from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. According to official accounts, five workers died during the construction.[17] Governor Smith's grandchildren cut the ribbon on May 1, 1931"

quantumfireball2099 wrote:Interesting, but when you think about the Empire State Building, when it was built, and how long it took them, this doesn't seem quite as impressive. EDIT: Also the foundation was already laid for the hotel. Still impressive though.

TAKEN FROM WIKIPEDIA"Excavation of the site began on January 21, 1930, and construction on the building itself started symbolically on March 17,St. Patrick's Day,per Al Smith's influence as Empire State, Inc. president. The project involved 3,400 workers, mostly immigrants from Europe, along with hundreds of Mohawk iron workers, many from the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal. According to official accounts, five workers died during the construction.[17] Governor Smith's grandchildren cut the ribbon on May 1, 1931"

True, but that's also the West of the past. We've gotten a little bloated and lazy over the years. I remember, as a kid, road repairs would be pretty quick affairs. Now I see roads torn up for MONTHS.